Shaan Amin
Position title: Ph.D. Candidate: Comparative Politics | Political Methodology
Email: snamin@wisc.edu

![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Research Interests
Formal Theory; Qualitative Methods; Social Identities
Biography
I research and write about politics. My research agenda concerns the effects of foreign involvement on domestic political activism, and in particular its intersection with identity politics.
I am working on two academic book projects. My dissertation project, Not Pancasila: A Study of Women’s and LGBT Activism in Indonesia studies the effects of Australian and US aid and ideological frames on women’s rights and LGBTQ rights activists’ behavior in Indonesia. My second book project, Diaspora Diplomacy: Indian Statecraft in the United States, is an adaptation and extension of two long-form (>10,000 word) reported pieces I wrote for The Caravan.
I am grateful for the support of the National Science Foundation, the Luce Foundation, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.
Publications
The Atlantic, “The Dark Side of the Comics that Redefined Hinduism”
The Atlantic, “The Sprawling, Empathetic Adventure of Saga”
The Atlantic, “Trump, Modi, and a Brief History of Making Fun of How South Asians Talk”
The Caravan, “Race to the Top”
The New Republic, “Can the Left Win YouTube?”
Awards
NSF GRFP Award (2019-2022)
Hawai’i/Wisconsin LUCE Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Fellowship (2019)